Boardman 8.9 SLR Upgrade to Di2

[boardman man]

Hi,
I recently bought a Boardman 8.9 SLR and want to upgrade it to Shimano DI2. Has anyone done this and is it worth doing it ?

thanks

 

[Cycleops]

Hello and to the forum.

I would say no, but I’m sure a few on here would tell you to go right ahead and that Di2 is worth every penny. One thing for sure is you’ll need plenty of disposable income. Another thing to consider is the saleability of a Halfords bike brand so equipped when it comes to change it.
Cost would be approaching the value of the bike.

 

[boardman man]

thank you @Cycleops

 

[cyberknight]

has that model the got the routing and fittings for d12 ? i dont know personally as im a cable kind of guy as i do my own maintenence and prefer cables for that reason.( looking at pictures your probably ok )
You also have to consider cost of the LBS doing this for you

 

[TerryDi2]

11-speed Di2? 12-speed Di2?

 

[boardman man]

11-speed Di2? 12-speed Di2?

11 speed

 

[jowwy]

not done it to a boardman, but have done it to many other bikes and also used sram etap ( my favourite ) - you wont be disappointed and you dont need plenty of disposable income, it can be done cheaply if you shop around

 

[iluvmybike]

IMO not worth it on that bike - the kit needed to do it prob worth more than whole bike - and 11sp Shimano mechanical shifts very well anyway in my experience

 

[Milkfloat]

Financially it does not make sense, but that is not necessarily a reason not to do it. Finding good value parts at them moment may not bee too easy, if you wait a while then more 12spd Di2 kit will start to become available and people will be looking to upgrade meaning you might have some options on eBay.

 

[boydj]

How long have you been cycling? Do you do enough cycling to be able to justify the expense? Will you continue to do enough cycling to justify the expense?

I suspect you are a relative newcomer and would suggest that you ride the bike as it is until you have gained some experience and have a better idea of how you want your cycling to progress. If you develop into a keen cyclist doing significant mileage, then the chances are that you'll want a better bike overall and can then go for a Di2 equipped bike at that point.

 

[jowwy]

why do people need to justify their own expense on their bikes??? why cant they just have what they want, without the need for justification.

Life's too short, have what you want and enjoy it

 

[Cycleops]

I don’t think anyone is saying the OP shouldn’t have what he wants but there are other things to consider as the replies reflect.

 

[jowwy]

I don’t think anyone is saying the OP shouldn’t have what he wants but there are other things to consider as the replies reflect.

so you didn't agree with post no.10 which asks whether the OP can justify the spend??........

and can you list what other things there are to consider???

 

[T4tomo]

and can you list what other things there are to consider???

for a start

has that model the got the routing and fittings for d12 ? i dont know personally as im a cable kind of guy as i do my own maintenence and prefer cables for that reason.( looking at pictures your probably ok )
You also have to consider cost of the LBS doing this for you

@jowwy You probably have some good advice / pitfalls to avoid for the OP having done it "many times" previously.

I think making sure what you buy is all compatible if it doesn't come as a whole set is up there too.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I think the key question is: Is there anything specific about this bike that would prevent it from being done?

For example would you end up having to duck tape a junction box or battery to the frame because DI2 expects frames or seatposts of a certain kind? ... or something like that. (I don't have any answer to that question btw, nor do I know anything about DI2 or Boardman bikes)

How long the OP has been cycling and how much they ride has got the square root of f-all to do with it.